Nothing to Fear but the Lord Himself

As we have no need to be afraid of illness or death, because our lives are safely hidden with Christ in God — and whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s — in much the same way, we have no need to be afraid of the governing authorities whom the Lord has placed over us in this body and life on earth, because He Himself governs all things in heaven and on earth for the blessing and benefit of His Church.

All of this we receive and bear under the Cross in the sure and certain hope and promise of the Resurrection and the Life everlasting.

At the same time, as surely as it is appropriate, good, and right to work within our callings and stations in life to preserve and promote “liberty and justice for all” within our society and nation, so is it also appropriate, good, and right to exercise care and precautions in regards to our health and safety and that of our neighbors in the world.

What sets us apart as Christians is not that we are unconcerned or uninvolved in the day-to-day activities of life on earth, but that we engage our neighbors, our jobs, and our place in the world in the fear and faith of Christ Jesus, in the confidence of His forgiveness, and in the certainty of His Resurrection from the dead, by which we are justified and saved for eternal Life with God.

Christians are not fatalists or Manichaean determinists, as though nothing we might do or say would make any difference. Nor do we presume upon the promises and providence of God as an excuse to be negligent or lazy. We rather take seriously the commands of the Lord, His call to repentance, His admonition and encouragement to pray and confess, and the duties of our place in life. Precisely because we believe in the resurrection of the body, we understand that what we do with our bodies, and the care that we give to our neighbors in their bodies, actually matters.

It is not sound doctrine but a false theology of glory which suggests that we need not invest any time or energy, care or concern into the wants and needs of this life on earth. For according to the Mystery of His divine Wisdom, the Lord teaches us to pray, to work, and to love one another, as instruments of His Word and work and love; and He promises that our labors are not in vain.

At the same time, precisely because we do understand, believe, and trust that all things in heaven and on earth, all of creation, and the whole of the Lord’s Kingdom of Power are governed for the blessing and benefit of His Church, so do we take seriously that the trials and tribulations of this body and life are not random, accidental, or outside of His authority, knowledge, and providence, but are among the ways and means by which He disciplines His children, whom He loves, and in mercy calls them daily to repentance, faith, and newness of life.

Whatever human machinations and manipulations may be at work in the world, whether with respect to bodily health, economic conditions, political structures, or societal developments, it is the Lord who chastises, corrects, and calls upon His people to bear the fruits of righteousness to the glory of His Name and the good of their neighbors. Thus do we heed the numerous examples of Holy Scripture, in which the Prophets of the Lord admonish His people to put away their false gods and idols, their pursuit of worldly wealth and power, and their bitter and biting contentions with one another, that the Lord should turn from His righteous anger and preserve us in His Peace.

It is not in the fear of man, nor in the fear of death or life, but in the fear of the Lord that we do repent, trust Christ, and live. For He Himself has opened the way of repentance to us by His own Cross and Resurrection. And as He ever lives to make intercession for us before the throne of God, because He is our merciful and great High Priest in all things pertaining to God, so do we go to bed each night in the peaceful confidence of His forgiveness, and we rise up each morning to carry out our duties and responsibilities in the righteousness of faith in His Name.

So do we also return regularly to the Lord’s Altar on earth, where we find grace to help in every need. And from His Altar we proceed in faith toward God and with fervent love for one another.